Contact Information
Department of Physics525 Northwestern Avenue
West Lafayette, IN
47907-2036
Map and Directions
Telephone:
(765) 494-2970
Fax:
(765) 494-0706
Philip Gurnev
Laboratory of Physical and Structural Biology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Protein channels for solute transport: role of attractive interactions
Monday November 29, 2010
4:00pm PHYS 203
Unless otherwise noted, seminars are held on Mondays at 4:00 p.m. in Physics Room 203. Coffee and doughnuts served at 3:45pm.
In order to transport metabolites and other “large" solutes across membranes, cells require transmembrane protein pores. Pore formation causing uncontrolled transport of ions and metabolites is also a universal cell-killing mechanism used by protein toxins (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus toxin). We study these pores by reconstituting them into planar lipid bilayers and following their electrical activity using high-resolution conductance recording. Using examples of pore-forming proteins and solutes I will show how different pores can be employed to study underlying mechanisms of molecular interactions and solvation, to probe structural characteristic of supramolecular complexes, and to study polymer dynamics in confined spaces.